A misanthropic ghostwriter roams an island off the Kenyan coast. An Arizona teenager awaits the next stage in a secretive covenant. A renowned poet retraces her past amid a baffling netherworld. An international arms dealer's son drifts through time, atoning for the death of the man he loved.

For readers who take their contemporary fiction with a tinge of the otherworldly, Bleeding Light is about mystical experiences, the symbolic fabric connecting us all, and desperate people seeking affirmation — through religious, cosmic, chemical and other means — of a world beyond their own. It's a grimly funny and often trippy take on transcendence in a hypercommodified age. (From Invisible Publishing)

Rob Benvie is a Toronto-based musician and writer originally from Nova Scotia. He has performed with the musical acts Thrush Hermit and The Dears, among others. He is also the author of the novels Safety of War and Maintenance.